


Concerns of a Father

by suibian_xx



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suibian_xx/pseuds/suibian_xx
Summary: Jeralt knew that Byleth was, foremost, a warrior. So it was it completely ridiculous that he found himself concerned over the thought of her liking someone.alt;Despite everything, Jeralt couldn’t help but be an overprotective father. Regardless of how old she is. He blames Alois for everything.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	Concerns of a Father

**Concerns of a Father**

There was no question that Byleth was a warrior. After all, not just anyone could earn the title of Ashen Demon. She proved her mettle time and time again on the battlefield, withholding a tactical instinct and prowess that would surely surpass her old man. He trusted that she was able to take care of herself and make good decisions. Heck, he sometimes feels like she can take better care of him than he does.

Despite knowing all that, ever since they returned to the monastery, he felt oddly concerned about his kid.

He believed it was due to his distrust of the archbishop and, considering their shared history, he thought that concern was founded. As time went on, he realized that there perhaps was another reason.

He stayed beneath the shadows of one of the monastery entryways when he noticed Byleth was explaining something to a small group of her students.

Jeralt smiled, feeling a certain degree of pride at the sight. Neither of them expected that she would have a knack for teaching, let alone for her to become the favorite professor in the Academy. It was a pleasant surprise for the both of them, one that’d Byleth humbly appreciated.

Oddly enough, the thought only filled him with a sense of dread.

“Don’t you ever wonder if she has a sweetheart by now, Captain?”

He felt his heart drop as one of his deepest fears was spoken aloud. He turned towards the source of the voice and noticed Alois had appeared beside him, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he watched the display.

“That’s ridiculous. She’s surrounded by her students all day, and she's likely too busy for that nonsense,” Jeralt said, surprised that his tone sounded almost defensive.

Alois did not seem to notice. “It’s not like she’s any older than them. Besides, the current class will graduate before we know it, and then they won’t be considered her students anymore.”

Jeralt almost flinched, Alois’s words all but physically wounding him.

The possibility of Byleth’s romantic pursuits was the last thing he thought he'd be concerned about when he returned to the monastery. When they traveled together, she never showed any desire for romance—or really any emotion really. He thought when the time finally came, when she found someone worthy of her affections, he would accept it, maybe even cool with whoever she chose.

But that day certainly wasn’t happening anytime soon, let alone that day.

“Now I wonder who it could be…” Alois tapped his finger against his chin thoughtfully. “Do you think it’d be one of the house leaders? Due to her position, she does spend a lot of time with them.”

Jeralt’s body stiffened at the thought. His eyes widened, but he remained silent.

Alois only continued thinking aloud, “Dimitri is an upstanding young man, and he’d surely be able to support her without any issue.”

‘ _But what about the support he probably needs..._ ’

There were times when Jeralt caught a glimpse of Dimitri late in the evenings when there was hardly a soul in the training grounds. He could see a shadow over Dimitri’s eyes, his expression dark, almost wild, as he cracked a training dummy’s head clean off its body, splintering the training spear in the process. It was the kind of look he had seen a handful of times, from soldiers who were shellshocked from a gruesome battle, when mercenaries returned from a job that had gone horribly wrong.

He may not know what Dimitri went through, but Jeralt was sure he didn't want his daughter dealing with it.

“Or maybe even Claude,” Alois mused. “He’s fun to be around and is such a sharp kid.”

‘ _And that’s what makes him a problem._ ’

Claude was smart, almost too smart for his own good. He could tell Claude was always planning one step ahead, making sure he had the upper hand in any given situation. Reading his intentions was always difficult, which made him difficult to trust, even impossible to even think of entrusting his daughter to him.

“And there’s also Edelgard. She’s a bit serious at times, but an exemplary student with strong convictions. Someone that responsible would surely take good care of her.”

‘ _Strong convictions indeed._ ’

There was no doubt that Edelgard was a determined, maybe even stubborn, one who has her eyes set on a future only she can see. Whatever future that was, for some odd reason, he worried how Byleth would fit into it.

Just as Jeralt fell into his own musings, trying his best to combat his internal demons, Alois continued on, "You know, Captain. Maybe it isn't one of the students. She does spend a lot of time with the faculty and knights. Hanneman and Manuela have taken a liking to her, and even stuffy Seteth seems to not mind being around her."

A cold chill rushed down his spine. He found himself looking at Byleth again, suddenly becoming aware of how close the students were standing next to her, _too close_ for his tastes.

' _...maybe bringing her to the monastery was a mistake._ '

That was all Jeralt could take.

"Sorry, Alois. I forgot I had some business to take care of."

"Ah, alright. Nice talking to you, Captain!" Alois said brightly, watching as his former captain march through the throng of students and drag Byleth away.

‘ _Huh, I never realized he needed to speak with the professor._ ’ Alois scratched his head before a thought suddenly came to mind. ‘ _Oh! Maybe the captain wants to figure out who she likes too!’_

After all, he of all people would want to meet that lucky individual that captured his daughter's heart.

_'Still, I wonder who it could be..._ '

Then he suddenly thought of someone that could help him, one who was well-versed in the more romantic pursuits and may have a better idea of what that answer could be...

* * *

"Was making you tea the business you wanted to discuss?" Byleth said, carefully reaching across the table to pour him a cup.

"No, I wanted to talk to you about something else." He paused a beat. "I, uh, just thought tea would be a good idea too."

Byleth hummed in agreement, leaning back into the chair to pour herself a cup.

In truth, he was only delaying the inevitable. He had hoped when they arrived in his office, he would have figured out a good way to broach this subject. When that didn't happen, he had Byleth brew him some tea to buy a little more time.

Now here they were—Byleth remained calm and completely oblivious while Jeralt was almost sweating in his seat.

It was ridiculous. He was called the _Blade Breaker_ for goodness sakes, yet he found talking to his daughter about her romantic life absolutely terrifying. He wasn't sure what he was scared of more though—offending her with such an absurd question or hearing her provide an actual answer, complete with plans to elope in the near future.

_'Get it together, Jeralt._ '

He took a sip of the tea as he slowly gathered his courage. Instead, he found himself momentarily taken aback.

"That's some damn good tea," he said, marveling at the taste.

"Isn't it? Ferdinand and Lorenz really have great taste. They gave me these tea leaves as a gift," Byleth said before she took a sip.

At the sound of their names, his brow twitched. He couldn't help himself anymore.

He blurted out, "Are you interested in any of them?"

Byleth almost choked.

"W-what?" She managed to cough out, pounding her chest.

"Are you interested in them as... you know." Jeralt leaned forward, unable to contain it any further. "Or are you interested in anyone really."

All Byleth could do was stare at her father, absently patting her chest as her coughing slowly subsided. Jeralt only stared back, his expression serious. 

"You know, I've been on countless missions, even before I started as a professor here. I crossed swords with many dangerous people, even stared right into the jaws of countless demonic beasts." She paused a beat, her expression almost thoughtful. "I think this is the first time you ever seemed truly concerned about me."

"Of course, I’d be concerned. Even though I know you're a fighter, you're still my little girl."

That admission had taken them both aback.

_'Me and my goddamn mouth.'_

Jeralt cursed and assessed Byleth's reaction. Her eyes were wide, but everything else remained stoic, unreadable.

He dropped his gaze and coughed reflexively to hide his embarrassment. "Look, I'm sorry. This place must be making me sentimental or something...”

Jeralt fell silent when he watched a hand reach across the table and grab ahold of his.

"You don't need to apologize. I just meant it was just... nice to hear. You don't normally say things like that."

He looked up to see Byleth's face, a smile curling at the corners of her lips, a sight he didn’t remember seeing much of during their travels.

He felt his own face soften. “I just don’t want you to think I’m being overbearing or anything. I know you can handle yourself just fine.” He paused a moment and added, “And I guess whoever you end up with will be a good person.”

“And will be someone that meets your high standards?”

Jeralt instinctively snorted at the thought. “Like that’s possible....”

Then Byleth laughed. He could only look in astonishment, not remembering a time she laughed or ever looked so happy. Though in retrospect, ever since she started teaching here, her expression seemed softer, her eyes shining with a light he had never seen before.

‘ _Maybe coming here wasn’t a bad idea after all._ ’

Still, he didn’t know why he couldn’t shake this nagging uneasiness.

As if reading his mind, Byleth composed herself and said, “If you’re still wondering, I’m not seeing anyone right now. With all the work I have to do, I’m too busy to even think about that.”

Jeralt released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. A weight left his shoulders, and he fully relaxed into his seat. The conversation was already taking a toll on him, and he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if she actually said she _was_ seeing someone.

“What made you think of asking that anyway?”

“Alois said something about how you might have met someone you liked,” Jeralt said, shaking his head at the thought. Ridiculous of him to believe Alois, preposterous really. Jeralt had no idea why he let that get to him.

“Alois... I see,” Byleth mumbled to herself, looking down at her tea almost thoughtfully.

Despite the odd look, Jeralt did not think much of it. “At least now I can just enjoy a good drink with my kid.”

“Maybe next time I’ll bring you some ale instead,” Byleth said.

Jeralt felt his lips curve into a smile. Now that’s his girl.

* * *

“Alois!”

Alois turned around to see a certain professor march towards him, her brows furrowed in distress, and lips pressed in a tight line.

Despite the look on her face, he only smiled. “Ah, Professor! I’ve been looking for you as well! What a coincidence.”

“Great, please allow me to go first.”

Alois nodded his head. Byleth released an even breath and said, “So I heard you spoke with my father.”

“Oh yes, I did! And I was just going to ask you how that discussion went. What are the odds?” he replied. “How did your father react when you told him about your sweetheart?”

“I don't have a sweetheart so there is nothing for me to tell him," she huffed. "Besides, I’m too busy to even be thinking about things like that.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s completely untrue, Professor. I was actually chatting with Manuela, and she did say she noticed you often had tea with...”

“No, I was not.” Alois almost jumped surprised by the sudden outburst.

Byleth seemed to catch herself and watched as a grin slowly curled on the corners of his lips.

She coughed and turned to look away, trying to hide the warmth in her cheeks. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't tell my father such silly things. Now that's settled, I should get going now."

Without another word, Byleth rushed off, almost tripping over herself as she made her escape.

Alois only crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled at her behavior. ' _Ah, young love._ '

It wasn't like he was planning on telling the captain of his discovery. After all, he knew better than to interfere with a budding romance, and, considering who Alois thought it was, that person would make a great match for her.

_'Oh, I can't wait to see the look on the Captain's face once he finds out. He would be thrilled!'_

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to keep the house and potential pairing ambiguous in this case, since the possibilities are endless.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!


End file.
